Examples of front facing terminal blocks for telecommunication main distribution frames are illustrated in the following U.S. patents:
______________________________________ Pat. No. Inventor Granted ______________________________________ 3,784,728 George De Bortoli et al. 1/8/74 4,538,868 Thomas W. Cruise et al. 9/3/85 4,752,107 Gary J. Gunell et al. 6/21/88 4,753,610 John C. Eason et al. 6/28/88 4,763,226 Claude Pelletier 8/9/88 4,766,521 Claude Pelletier 8/23/88 ______________________________________
The Cruise et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,868 illustrates in FIGS. 2 and 5 a front facing connectorized terminal block. Such patent shows multi-pin ribbon connectors 42 that are received in elongated openings along a bottom panel of the chassis 40. The elongated openings are offset with respect to each other for the express purpose of providing maximum connector density.
The Gunell U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,107 in FIG. 2 illustrates a plurality of mating connectors 16 mounted along a bottom wall 13 in which the connectors are mounted at oblique angles. The connectors are disposed and angled for the express purpose of minimizing the depth of the housing between the support bracket 46 and the front cover 32.
The Eason et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,610 illustrates a front facing terminal block having a rear panel 46 with female receptacle ribbon connectors 36 mounted therein in a horizontal orientation.
Both of the Pelletier U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,763,226 and 4,766,521 show in various figures the female receptacle ribbon connectors mounted in a bottom panel for receiving corresponding male plug ribbon connectors.
One of the problems associated with such prior art front facing connectorized terminal blocks is the inability to easily mount two different size multi-pin ribbon connectors to the terminal block or to provide a terminal block that is equally adaptable to receiving ribbon connectors of one size or of a second size, particularly 50 pin connectors or 64 pin connectors. Such connectors are standard within the telephone industry. Invariably the customer when specifying the terminal block, specifies whether the terminal block should be manufactured for 50 pin connectors or 64 pin connectors. The manufacturer then constructs the terminal block to fit one or the other but not both. Generally the manufacturer utilizes a different panel should the customer order the terminal block with 50 pin connectors as opposed to one for 64 pin connectors.
One of the principal objects and advantages of the present invention is to provide the capability of utilizing 50 pin connectors or 64 pin connectors or a combination of the two, utilizing a single mounting panel that is configured to accept or receive either size or a combination of the two. Such a feature provides for very efficient manufacturing and it further minimizes the number of parts and the number of terminal blocks that must be inventoried to meet the intended demand.
These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment.